ME2 Kira Shepard 2 Daddy Was a Rolling Stone LV
by RickF7666
Summary: This is the original long version of my story and introduces Kira's father's friends my super hero group Montage.


Daddy Was a Rolling Stone: Full Version

She didn't belong here.

The Presidium of the Citadel bustled about as it had for centuries. Beings of many races moved with purpose across the arching bridges that spanned manicured parks. Few gave the armored, blond haired human more than a glance as they went about their various tasks. Military personal rarely had free range on the Presidium. _This_ was the venue for diplomats and powerful businessmen. But _this _was no ordinary soldier. This was one of the most famous members of the Citadel Counsel's elite operatives. She was the first human _Specter_, **Commander Kira Shepard**: hero of the battle for the Citadel!

Because of the events of that battle, many non-humans feared and even _hated_ her. Her decisions -though heroic- led to the _deaths_ of the original counsel ...and its replacement by a Human-only counsel, headed by Counselor Udina.

As Commander Shepard leaned on the curving railing of the bridge, looking out at where the habitat ring curved out of sight, a tall dark haired man walked up beside her. Placing an arm comfortably around her waist he said, "Credit for your thoughts." She stood straight, a frown on her face.

"I'm really regretting my decision to support Udina as the head of the Counsel. If he doesn't watch it, he'll find out that his_ title_ doesn't afford him the same protection as a _biotic barrier_."

A frown then creased **Kaidan Alenko's** face as well. "You really shouldn't say things like that. You're already on thin ice with the powers-that-be, because of your association with Cerberus."

The look she gave him spoke to the conversations that they had had earlier. Kaidan knew just how close he had come to losing her. Shepard had always seemed invincible. Standing against_ Saren_ and _Sovereign_ when few believed she wasn't out of her mind. But then came that terrible day when the Collectors _destroyed_ the Normandy and she sacrificed her life for Joker. But then, two years later, she _miraculously_ showed up on Horizon and saved the colony from a Collector attack!

Upon seeing her then, Kaidan was both elated and hurt. Had she "faked" her death as the rumors had said? Why hadn't she contacted him? And the further shock of finding her in the employ of _Cerberus_ was almost too much for him to bear. How could she work for them after all the _atrocities_ they had witnessed committed by Cerberus operatives -not to mention what those operatives had done to Admiral Kahoku?

Kaidan had felt betrayed. After he had allowed his emotions to calm, though, it sank-in that she, too, had paid a price. The glowing scars that had lacerated her face were testament to the lengths that Cerberus had gone to bring her back.

But now the Collector threat had been _defeated _and, to his shame, he had not stood beside her. The mission she had _now_ taken on was to prepare the galaxy for the coming _Reaper_ invasion. She didn't know when it would come. A year? Two? A thousand? No one could know. But that mission is what had brought her back to the Citadel and back into his life. Somewhere along the line she had fixed the scarring on her face, but the fire behind those eyes still burned. It had taken some time for them to work past their various feelings and get back to a semblance of their previous relationship.

"Well at least Cerberus takes the threat _seriously_, unlike that self-important bureaucrat."

He understood her frustration. After she had "died", she'd gotten a state funeral and a plaque with her name on it...and then they promptly swept _everything she had said_ under a rug.

"You have to cut them a little slack. The attack is still fresh in their minds. The lower wards are _still_ cleaning up the mess -and that was just _one_ Reaper. _Now _you're telling them there is an _entire armada -_bent on wiping out all life- headed their way? _Of course_ they don't want to believe it!"

She opened her mouth for a rebuttal when she was interrupted.

"Excuse me, but are you Commander Kira Shepard?"

They both turn to the new arrival. He was short for a Human, balding, and wearing an old style business suit that was completely out of place on the Citadel. Shepard looked down at the man and simply replied, "...Yes..."

"Oh, my heavens! I cannot _tell you_ what I have been through tracking you down! I have a message from your father!"

Fewer words could have been spoken that could have had a greater impact than those uttered by this odd little man.

The problem was that Shepard had _never known_ her father. He had left her mother when she was pregnant. Her mother had died when Shepard was only five years old, and she had grown up on the streets of New York in a gang called "the Tenth Street Reds." For some reason things from her past seem to be popping up lately. First it was _Finch_ from the old gang - and then _Major Kyle_ from Torfan - and _now _a message from her father!

"...What kind of message?"

"Pardon my excitement, but who could have known that this message -put in our care all those years ago- would lead one to a _genuine hero!"_

"Would you just get on with it?"

"Right you are! My name is _'Milo Wolowitts'_, of Hammon, Stern and Wolowitts, PA." He handed her a small rectangle of paper which appeared to magically jump to the end of his fingers. "My firm was contracted to deliver this message to you on your twentieth birthday!"

Kaidan chuckled at that and said, "I think you _missed it_ by more than a few years" -for which he got an armored elbow in the ribs.

"Yes, well, you were a might _hard_ to track down! We _thought_ we had tracked you down last year, after the attack on the Citadel, but then you were reported as having _died!_ Imagine my delight at having found that _not_ to be true!"

Kaidan knew the warning signs. Shepard was about to do something violent.

"We are happy for you, but could you _just - give - her - the - message - already?"_

"Right you are! Right you are! But first things first. If you could just put your hand on this _DNA scanner,_ to verify your identity..."

At which point Milo reached into his archaic briefcase and pulled out a piece of equipment that at least _looked_ like it had been manufactured this century. After getting a positive scan result he then produced a sealed plastic envelop. Opening it up, Commander Shepard found an old-style video disk. Looking back at Milo she sniffed, "You're_ kidding, _right? I doubt that I could find anything to _play_ this thing with anywhere on the Citadel."

"Not to worry! Not to worry! I have a player right here!" At which point he pulled out a portable viewer. "It has its own screen, but it's also wireless...so you shouldn't have any trouble hooking it up to _any_ view screen. And now -with your kind permission, Commander-_ I_ can go back to Earth!"

After the small man had left, the two headed back to where the Normandy II was docked. "Sooo...a message from your father. Do you remember anything that your mother might have mentioned about him?" Looking pensive, Shepard replied "Now that I think about it -what little I can remember, of course- she never spoke badly of him. As a matter of fact, I think she once said that he was a _hero_."

"What kind of 'hero?' Was he in the military?"

"I don't think so. Maybe...Ah, _hell_ -I was only _five_ when she died, and it's not really something I've dwelled on."

Arriving on the Normandy II the pair was greeted at the airlock by a guard. While it had been well-lit on the Citadel, the lights on the Normandy where only set at half -being that it was late in the ship's evening. Few of the crew were about, and the two headed to the lift. Arriving in the Captain's Cabin, Shepard turned to a display right inside the door.

"Edi I have a rather _old_ video disk player. Can you connect to it and display the image over on the armor-select console?" A pleasant, if somewhat artificial, woman's voice responded, "That's not a problem Commander."

Shepard and Kaidan walked down the stairs from the cabin's "office" to its living space. Sitting on the edge of the bed they looked at the holographic display on the port side bulkhead. An image formed of a man of middle years, with dark brown hair and a neatly trimmed moustache. He was, if anything, a rather nondescript man...but there was something in the eyes: a hidden intensity...a quiet resolve.

A woman's voice, not unlike Shepard's, said off-camera "Alan it's recording."

The man smiled pleasantly and announced, "Yes, Kira, you have a father." At which point he chuckled at some inner joke. "My name is **Alan Johnson**, and _I'm_ your father. I've asked Helen not to tell you much about me, as whom and what I am is a little...er,_ complicated_. So I'm recording this as a twentieth birthday gift, and I really hope that you will understand all that I have to tell you...and maybe _forgive me_ for not being there as you grew up." A sadness filled his eyes, but he quickly got it under control and the smile returned.

"The first thing I need to mention is that I'm not from your world. I _am_ from Earth, but not _this_ Earth."

Shepard's mouth opened, to voice a question that never came.

The recording of Alan continued. "Several years ago I and several others were involved in an event that -well- _shunted us_ from our reality...and we have been trying to get back to it ever since. I'm not going to get into all the science behind it as it doesn't really matter at this point. What _does_ matter is that I don't have a choice in leaving. If it had only been _me_ travelling, then I would have stayed here with you and your mother. I can only hope that one day you'll understand how, sometimes, _obligations_ can override any personal desires you might have to the contrary. Also...if the choice was there, I would have brought you and your mother _with_ me -but the journey is hazardous, and I _will not_ risk your lives. This is -in case you were wondering- why you have your mother's last name. I don't exist here and bureaucracies handle unanswered questions better than answers that aren't covered by one of their forms."

Alan Johnson's eyes strayed toward the ceiling and he stroked his moustache, his voice briefly muffled behind his hand. "I think you might be wondering just who I am. Well...I was born in Chicago...in 1960."

Chuckling, he continued, "Oh, I'm not as old as _all that!_ One of the problems with travelling between realities is locking onto _the date_. Again, it's complicated - but I think we _are_ getting better at it. By trade I'm an engineer. By hobby, well ...that might be a little hard to believe. _This_ Earth has only just started to reach out to the stars, and you have yet to encounter any non-human civilizations...although by the time you see this, that might not be the case. Once humans encounter aliens you might find that they have _abilities_ that humans don't, such as_ telepathy_ or _telekinesis_."

"I'm telling you this because you _yourself _might have these abilities! Because on _my_ Earth they are not uncommon and...well...I, and other members of my family, have them."

"WHAT?" That last comment by Alan had brought Kaidan to his feet, staring in disbelief between the screen and Shepard.

"Edi pause please." The image of the man stopped moving just as he was opening his mouth to say something else.

Kaidan continued. "Were you or _weren't_ you exposed to Element Zero?" Shepard smiled up at him, guiltily.

"Actually...I wasn't."

"As a matter of fact, I never even had _biotic implants_ until Cerberus got a hold of me. After I joined the Alliance Military and started using my abilities, everyone just _assumed _that I had implants...and I didn't see any need to _dissuade them_ of the idea. Now, are you going to sit down so we can continue this?" Shaking his head, Kaidan suspiciously returned to his spot next to Shepard.

"Edi please continue the recording."

Alan continued to speak, "On _my_ Earth people with abilities are called "_Phenoms_"...and occasionally some would _band together_ for various reasons. As it turns out,_ I_ am a member of one of those bands ...which is how I came to be on this little journey. As for how your mother and I came to be together… well, you can't always predict who you'll connect with, or the situations you might find yourself in." Shepard and Kaidan briefly looked at each other.

"I fell in love with your mother and I'm not sorry. Never regret love. If you ever have the opportunity to fall in love, cherish it. It may not last, but that's no reason to avoid it."

"**Helen**, get over here and say hello to your daughter! I know young people never believe that _their parents_ were once young, too." Alan slid to the side and a young woman stepped into view. Except for the hair style and the makeup, she could have been Shepard's _twin_. She must have been very early in her pregnancy, because she didn't show at all. She smiled and said, "Hello, Kira sweetie. Happy birthday!" She blew a kiss and stepped out-of-frame. Kaidan looked over at Shepard and, while her face might have been carved of stone, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Waving at something off-screen Alan said, "Kira, there are a few people that I would like you to meet." The man who stepped into frame next to Alan could have been a photo copy of him, and yet the differences where striking. While Alan was relatively thin, this man had the physique of a _body builder,_ was clean shaven, and wore his hair in a close-cropped flat top. On someone else this look might have been a little scary, but this man's face was open and warm. "Say hello to your niece, **Steve**." Steve wrapped his large arm around Alan's shoulders.

"Well, happy birthday young lady! As I can't give you any other kind of present, maybe I can give you the small benefits of what little _wisdom _I have been able to collect. _Learn!_ Never _stop_ learning: from every situation you find yourself or any person you might meet. Remember: no _one_ person can know _everything_, so everyone you come in contact with has maybe learned something that you haven't. So listen and learn! Don't be too quick to prove you're smarter that everyone else -because you might find that you _aren't_. I _hear_ and I forget; I _see _and I remember; I _do_ and I understand."

Alan smiled, eyes rolling heaven-ward and pushed Steve out of the frame. "God- _enough_ with the Chinese proverbs!"

"Next up is** Robyn**! Say something nice, please." The camera frame moved, for the woman who stepped in was at least six inches taller than Alan. For someone of obvious Middle-Eastern descent, she strangely had _dark red_ hair! Although a sturdy-looking woman, she was still quite handsome. Kaidan was struck by how similar the bearing of this woman was to Shepard's. The eyes that looked out weighed and judged. She spoke.

"I understand, for I too grew up without my father. I joined the military at a young age and, if you also choose this path, remember: _you_ stand at the gate. Stand firm! Against the wild-eyed hordes that would take all you hold dear from you -_you stand firm!_ Never give ground to the enemy for he will just _take more _until you have nothing! _So you stand firm!"_ Alan looked a little nervous. "Thanks Robyn."

After she had stepped from the frame, Alan leaned toward the camera and said, "Don't worry honey, she kind of scares _me_, too."

"And now for a _completely different_ perspective", boomed a laughing voice. Stepping into frame was a wall of a man. He stood at least _another_ half foot taller than the tall woman who was just on screen, and the camera tilted yet again. The top of Alan's head now just poked into the bottom of the frame. The laughing man had long blond hair and a full beard. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail revealing _pointed ears_. His ears weren't the only thing a bit off about him. While he was defiantly handsome, there was something just a little _off_ about his features -something more _felt_ than seen.

"I, my dear, am **Marcus**...and if your parents are to be judged, one can only hope that you take after _your mother."_ A hand reached up and punched Marcus in the shoulder -appearing to have no effect on the mountain of a man.

"If I were to be asked for advice on life...I would have to say... LAUGH. A wise man once said "laugh at the small stuff -and it's _all_ small stuff!" or something to that effect." His face became serious. "You can't predict what the universe will send to you or take_ from_ you. Remember that no matter _what_ is taken, if you can still laugh -you still have _something_." He looked thoughtful for a second and then said, "A little parting wisdom. What is brown and sticky? ...A STICK!" This sent the large man into deep, loud laughter! A pair of hands came up and pushed him off screen.

"**Shane**! Come on over and say hi to my daughter!"

A tall man came into view -not nearly as tall as Marcus, but _still_ taller than Alan. Shepard began to suspect that Alan was, in fact, _kind of short_ -or he had a lot of really tall friends! "Shane" had black hair, slicked back. He wore a black jacket, and a shirt underneath marked with a "bull's-eye" of alternating black and yellow circles. He also wore a pair of dark sunglasses, which he reluctantly took off to reveal a pair of piercing blue eyes. The corners of his mouth pulled up, more a smirk than a genuine smile.

" 'Ello." He had a very pronounced English accent.

"_Hmm_...people don't normally come to _me_ for advice, and I don't normally give it -other than to tell them to go _get stuffed!_ ...Still, there is _one_ thing I've learned recently. Y' can't pick _the family_ you come from, but you might find that the people you surround yourself with have, in time, _become_ your family. And if your travels take you far from your family...if you keep them in your heart you are never _truly _alone."

The next instant Shane disappeared from the frame. _Literally_ disappeared! The camera did not stop or pause. Shane simply vanished! Alan Johnson looked around a bit and then shrugged.

"I guess that makes _you_ next, **Christopher**." Alan pulled a thin black man into camera range. While the thinnest person seen so far, he looked no less fit. Normally he would be unremarkable except for the large ugly scar that ran from his right forehead, across the bridge of his nose and continuing to the far side of his left cheek. And yet, for all that, his demeanor was shy but excited.

"Uh, hi Kira." When he waved Shepard and Kaidan were suddenly taken with the desire to wave back.

"My advice? Er... I don't know. I guess, _love what you do_. If you don't love what you do..._do something else_. Oh, and_ fly_ whenever you can. I love to fly." With that the young man lifted off and flew out the top of the frame. Shepard and Kaidan stared at each other unsure if they could believe what they had just seen.

Alan turned back to the camera when Marcus's voice suddenly boomed, "Val's back! **Vallarri**! Alan is making a video for his daughter! We're trying to give her some advice. You should say something!"

"Alright sugar...I'll see if I can impart some insight." The voice was educated Australian, with an overtly sultry tone.

The woman who that voice belonged to was, without a doubt, the most _beautiful _woman either of them had ever seen! They had both seen intensely beautiful _Asaris_, but none of them came close to this woman's supernatural beauty. She moved with a sexual grace that would leave most sentients who encountered her _speechless_.

"Everyone has gifts..._some_ more than others. The point is to use everything you have -always! Develop what you have as far as it will go! If you have been given a gift, do not think that using it is beneath you. Do not _curse_ the gifts of others just because _you_ do not have them. And finally, _share_ your gifts. You are young, _that _is a gift that you will not always have, so enjoy it while you do. You are a _woman_, which is also a gift. You might not always think so. You might wish you had a man's strength, but you don't need it -because_ you_ are the woman, and he will give it freely. Really, it does no good to spend all your time pining over what you _don't _have. Use what you _do_ have! Have a Happy birthday, honey." With that she bent over, kissed Alan on the cheek, and left. Alan reddened as he lightly rubbed at the residue of her lipstick.

"Well, _you're_ the last one, **Cynthia**."

"I don't want to freak her out", chirped a voice that was pitched very high - almost at the edge of human hearing. At first they thought that the voice must belong to a child.

"Cynthia, _you've_ never been camera-shy before. I'm certain she'll be fine."

Shepard and Kaidan had traveled the galaxy and had seen many different aliens -which was the only reason they _didn't _"freak". They were at a loss to imagine the environment that had produced _this_ woman, for it was clear this was no child. She _barely_ stood four feet tall, had a petite frame, and was covered in a _short white fur!_ Arching across her head was a brilliant-blue Mohawk which traveled down her back like a horse's mane. She didn't have a nose -just two vertical slits where one would have been. Her ears were large and pointed. Her unusually large eyes were _neon orange_ in color, but with an attractive, possibly- Asian cast. But "Cynthia's" most dominant feature was the pair of huge, fluttering _butterfly wings_ that were attached to her back! Stunning, patterns of brilliant blue, orange and white cascaded through them. And finally, she had a tail...both long and seemingly prehensile.

Alan, for the first time, fully stepped off-camera and Cynthia began to sing. Her audience sat captivated, for her voice was what they might imagine an angel would sound like. She sang of loss and hope, of what could be and what will never be. Kaidan felt embarrassed that he might break down sobbing. He found that he was desperately holding Shepard's hands and he looked into her face and saw his own emotions reflected.

They clung to each other as the singing ended... and, in that same high-pitched little girl voice, "Cynthia" said "Happy birthday" and walked out of frame.

It took a few seconds for Alan to come back into view. His eyes were red, and Shepard and Kaidan knew that they weren't the only ones affected by the long-ago-recorded song. Struggling to get his smile back in place Alan said, "Well, that's everybody. I hope you had a wonderful twentieth birthday, Kira...my daughter. Know that I love you very much and will always be thinking of you."

Oddly, they noticed that Alan's smile had become a bit strained and he winced, like someone was shouting in his ear. Suddenly he yelled, "FINE! You can come out and say something - just don't do anything that might scare her!"

Then something inexplicable began to happen. Alan began to fade as a white film seemed to cover him. It didn't cover the entire screen -just him. Once he was covered, the swirling white film appeared to expand. It reminded them of being out on the frozen tundra, when the wind would pick up and blow the snow so hard you couldn't see anything. It was known as a white-out. The white-out expanded and took on a new shape, solidifying into some new form. The figure that now filled the screen was even _more_ alien than Cynthia had been -and even more startling, because of its size! The closest description was of a _humanoid dragon_!

Standing, it would have been at least fifteen feet tall! But what really was the first thing they noticed? There was so much to take in! The reptilian head atop of a long, snake- like neck? The_ four_ powerful arms -each ending in clawed hands with _two thumbs_? The huge wings tucked tightly against its back, so as not to destroy anything in the large room that was clearly not meant for someone of his size? Or maybe the long, flexible tail that snaked out behind him? Its skin was like that of a snake, but brilliant white and shiny enough to reflect the rest of the room. The camera pulled back so that they might see all of him.

This new figure was so improbable that Kaidan began to question whether or not this was just some sort of elaborate hoax! The thing's head arched closer to the camera. Colors danced across its multifaceted eyes, and this creature _smiled!_ A voice so low the two observers felt it in their bones spoke,

"I am "**ICEWING**"...andd you may considerr me as your... _adopted brother_." At that he winked.

"_I_ have wisdomm -even iff these _others_ do nott think such." At that he turned and stuck out his dark red tongue.

"The secrett to accomplishing anything is _PASSION_! Yes - yes... all these platitudes and proverbs fill the airr so nicely, but it is _PASSION _thatt you really need! PASSION for something is whatt gets you off your spindly carcass and _doing_ it! PASSION is why you will rise againn when you are introducedd to the ground...or when you are told something _cannott_ be done! If you have PASSION, people will try to KILL it -but you will nott let them! When they TRY, you will _scream_ your defiance! And when they try _harder_, you will _knockk them down!_

That...is all I have to say. Happy day-of-birth, little one...and good hunting.

The screen went dark and Commander Shepard sat speechless. Edi interrupted with, "The disk contains a variety of still pictures. Would you like to see them?"

Shepard stared at the now-blank screen for several seconds more. "No thank you, Edi. That'll be all for tonight."

"Good night Shepard."

Kaidan stood and stretched, asking no one in particular "...So...do you _actually_ think that's real?"

Shepard laid back on her bed, staring out though the skylight at the nebulous clouds that surrounded the Citadel. She smiled, wistfully. "At this point, I'm not sure."

"...And quite frankly, I'm not sure I _want_ it to be."

10


End file.
